The UK Top 40: This Week in 1987...

[Patrick Bateman]

Chart For Week Up To 08/07/1989

01. Soul II Soul - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)
02. The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever
03. London Boys - London Nights
04. Prince - Batdance
05. Pet Shop Boys - It's Alright
06. Gladys Knight - Licence To Kill
07. Queen - Breakthru'
08. U2 - All I Want Is You
09. Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night
10. Guns N' Roses - Patience
11. Double Trouble And The Rebel MC - Just Keep Rockin'
12. Sonia - You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You
13. Sinitta - Right Back Where We Started From
14. Jason Donovan - Sealed With A Kiss
15. M - Pop Muzik {1989}
16. D Mob Featuring LRS - It Is Time To Get Funky
17. Donna Allen - Joy And Pain
18. Rufus And Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody {1989}
19. Clannad With Bono - In A Lifetime {1989}
20. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine {1989}
21. Karyn White - Superwoman
22. Monie Love - Grandpa's Party
23. The Bangles - Be With You
24. Madonna - Express Yourself
25. Holly Johnson - Atomic City
26. A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
27. Waterfront - Cry
28. We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It - Pink Sunshine
29. Public Enemy - Fight The Power
30. Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
31. Donna Summer - I Don't Wanna Get Hurt
32. Danny Wilson - The Second Summer Of Love
33. De La Soul - Say No Go
34. Natalie Cole - Miss You Like Crazy
35. Cliff Richard - The Best Of Me
36. Kirsty MacColl - Days
37. Placido Domingo And Jennifer Rush - Til I Loved You
38. Norman Cook - Won't Talk About It/Blame It On The Bassline
39. LA Mix - Get Loose
40. Neneh Cherry - Manchild

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19890708

It's alright had a decent chart run. 5-5-7-12-21-40-49-68. Once again the chart is littered with classic tunes; Soul II Soul at number one, the generous-trousered pop of the London Boys (R.I.P.) at three, Guns N' Roses' first top ten hits, the anthemic Voodoo Ray at 26, and the vituperative Fight the Power at 29. Plus you've got the usual (in the old days) mix of re-releases like M and Chaka Khan, a healthy proportion of rock, pop, rap, commercial dance, power ballads, and Cliff.

[Danny C]

Chart For Week Up To 07/01/1989

01. Kylie And Jason - Especially For You
02. Erasure - Crackers International (EP)
03. Angry Anderson - Suddenly
04. Inner City - Good Life
05. Cliff Richard - Mistletoe And Wine
06. Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance
07. The Four Tops - Loco In Acapulco
08. Status Quo - Burning Bridges (On And Off And On Again)
09. Kim Wilde - Four Letter Word
10. Bros - Cat Among The Pigeons/Silent Night
11. Phil Collins - Two Hearts
12. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
13. Petula Clark - Downtown '88
14. Rick Astley - Take Me To Your Heart
15. A-ha - You Are The One
16. Freiheit - Keeping The Dream Alive
17. U2 - Angel Of Harlem
18. Robin Beck - First Time
19. New Order - Fine Time
20. Tiffany - Radio Romance
21. INXS - Need You Tonight
22. Londonbeat - 9AM (The Comfort Zone)
23. Bananarama - Nathan Jones
24. Bomb The Bass Featuring Maureen - Say A Little Prayer
25. Duran Duran - All She Wants Is
26. A Tribe Of Toffs - John Kettley (Is A Weatherman)
27. Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices
28. Gloria Estefan And Miami Sound Machine - Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
29. Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy
30. Hithouse - Jack To The Sound Of The Underground
31. Boy Meets Girl - Waiting For A Star To Fall
32. Enya - Evening Falls
33. Bon Jovi - Born To Be My Baby
34. Yazz - Stand Up For Your Love Rights
35. Annie Lennox And Al Green - Put A Little Love In Your Heart
36. Shakin' Stevens - True Love
37. Climie Fisher - Love Like A River
38. Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid
39. Will To Power - Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird
40. Natalie Cole - I Live For Your Love {1988}

Erasure's "Ultravox moment" - kept off the top spot by Kylie & Jason The advent of SAW production line pap has already meant that the rot has set in on the British pop charts. Nevertheless, there are still some copper-bottomed classics in here. Speaking of which, this was "Left to My Own Devices"'s last week in the top 40.

[Patrick Bateman]

Wow, I hadn't realised that Kylie and Jason kept them off the top spot.....for three consecutive weeks. If I ever manage to break through the Pied Piper's security network, I'll have to mention that excellent duet.



Just checking Erasure's chart history, The Final Countdown pipped Sometimes to the top spot; Blue Savannah was at number three behind Beats International and the B-52s; Jason Donovan and Color Me Badd featuring that bloke who looked like a waxwork George Michael then Bryan Adams held off Chorus (at three for two weeks).

Erasure have had TEN top five hits to PSB's nine.

Here's Erasure's most recent top five hit, and a quite dreadful chart. Brookstein, Keating, Halliwell, McFadden. The Number of the Beast indeed.

Chart For Week Up To 15/01/2005

01. Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock {2005}
02. Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds
03. Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast {2005}
04. Erasure - Breathe
05. Scissor Sisters - Filthy/Gorgeous
06. Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas?
07. Dana Rayne - Object Of My Desire
08. Kasabian - Cutt Off
09. Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
10. Uniting Nations - Out of Touch
11. Kylie Minogue - I Believe In You
12. Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For?
13. Ronan Keating feat. Yusuf - Father and Son
14. Lemar - If There's Any Justice
15. Ice Cube feat. Mack 10 & Ms Toi - You Can Do It
16. Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Numb / Encore
17. Seagulls Ska - Tom Hark (We Want Falmer)
18. Interpol - Evil
19. Nelly & Christina Aguilera - Tilt Ya Head Back
20. Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell - Drop It Like It's Hot
21. Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
22. Girls Aloud - I'll Stand By You
23. Lethal Bizzle - Pow! (Forward)
24. Eric Prydz - Call On Me
25. Christina Aguilera feat. Missy - Car Wash
26. Usher - Confessions Part II/My Boo
27. Merrion/McCall/Kensit - I Got You Babe/Soda Pop
28. Blue - Curtain Falls
29. Michael Gray - The Weekend
30. U2 - Vertigo
31. Urban Cookie Collective - The Key, The Secret 2005
32. Destiny's Child - Lose my breath
33. 3rd Wish - Obsesion (Si Es Amor)
34. Robbie Williams - Misunderstood
35. Jamelia - DJ/Stop
36. Geri Halliwell - Ride It
37. Eminem - Just Lose It
38. Brian McFadden - Irish Son
39. 100 Percent Feat. Jennifer John - Just Can't Wait (Saturday)
40. Britney Spears - My Prerogative

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=20050115

Certainly a productive week for the street team.

[Undertaker]

Good chart position but it didn't promote the album at all because no one took much notice of the charts in January. A bit more difficult now all the sproggs have i-tune vouchers for Christmas.

Here is the album chart for Erasure's Nightbird. Not sure what really happened for it to chart so badly because it was easily their best work in a decade.

http://www.chartstats.com/album_chart.php?week=20050205


01 The Chemical Brothers - Push The Button
02 The Killers - Hot Fuss
03 Rooster - Rooster
04 Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
05 Keane - Hopes And Fears
06 Green Day - American Idiot
07 The Game - The Documentary
08 Kasabian - Kasabian
09 Damien Rice - O
10 Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane
11 Lucie Silvas - Breathe In
12 Snow Patrol - Final Straw
13 Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
14 Eminem - Encore
15 Gwen Stefani - Love Angel Music Baby
16 Mercury Rev - The Secret Migration
17 U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
18 Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Collision Course
19 Embrace - Out Of Nothing
20 Lcd Soundsystem - Lcd Soundsystem
21 Jane McDonald - You Belong To Me
22 Kylie Minogue - Ultimate Kylie
23 Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
24 Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
25 The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons
26 Thirteen Senses - The Invitation
27 Erasure - Nightbird
28 Katherine Jenkins - Second Nature
29 Brian McFadden - Irish Son
30 Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
31 Ciara - Goodies
32 Ashanti - Concrete Rose
33 Il Divo - Il Divo
34 Lemar - Time To Grow
35 Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits
36 Ray Charles - Ray OST
37 Usher - Confessions
38 Destiny's Child - Destiny Fulfilled
39 Britney Spears - Greatest Hits - My Prerogative
40 Ashlee Simpson - Autobiography

[Radiophonic]

Erasure's "Ultravox moment" - kept off the top spot by Kylie & Jason

Unfair comparison in my opinion. True that Especially For You was a bit cheesy, but at the same time a well crafted pop song. Shaddap Your Face was a stupid novelty record.

[Patrick Bateman]

And Erasure's last proper big hit. Pretty awful chart actually, and I think you can actually mark this point in time as the definitive end of the synth-pop era. Liberation is static at 14, amazingly this is Prince's last top ten hit (apart from the re-release of 1999 in erm, 1999), and Oasis make their first ever appearance on the chart, signalling the rise of guitar rock.

Chart For Week Up To 23/04/1994

01. Prince - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
02. Take That - Everything Changes
03. Tony Di Bart - The Real Thing
04. Erasure - Always
05. Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
06. Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Philadelphia
07. Reel 2 Real Featuring The Mad Stuntman - I Like To Move It
08. Bitty McLean - Dedicated To The One I Love
09. Haddaway - Rock My Heart
10. Ace Of Base - The Sign
11. CJ Lewis - Sweets For My Sweet
12. Salt-N-Pepa With En Vogue - Whatta Man
13. Doop - Doop
14. Pet Shop Boys - Liberation
15. D:Ream - U R The Best Thing {1994}
16. Madonna - I'll Remember
17. Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love
18. Loveland Featuring Rachel McFarlane Vs Darlene Lewis - Let The Music (Lift You Up)
19. Toni Braxton - Another Sad Love Song {1994}
20. Des'ree - You Gotta Be
21. Kate Bush - The Red Shoes
22. JX - Son Of A Gun
23. Black Machine - How Gee
24. Terrorvision - Oblivion
25. Mariah Carey - Without You
26. The Pretenders - I'll Stand By You
27. PJ And Duncan - Why Me?
28. Garth Brooks - Standing Outside The Fire
29. Frances Ruffelle - Lonely Symphony
30. Roachford - Only To Be With You
31. Oasis - Supersonic
32. Urban Cookie Collective - High On A Happy Vibe
33. Driza Bone - Pressure
34. Degrees Of Motion Featuring Biti - Shine On
35. Taylor Dayne - I'll Wait
36. Daniel O'Donnell - Singing The Blues
37. Fluke - Bubble
38. The Proclaimers - What Makes You Cry?
39. Ice-T - Gotta Lotta Love
40. Urban Species - Brother

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19940423

But this is a tune!

[Vince]

But before we consign PSB to the dumper.....

Chart For Week Up To 12/06/1993

01. UB40 - (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You
02. Ace Of Base - All That She Wants
03. The Spin Doctors - Two Princes
04. Inner Circle - Sweat (A La La La La Long) {1993}
05. Green Jelly - Three Little Pigs
06. Haddaway - What Is Love
07. Pet Shop Boys - Can You Forgive Her?

Whoa!! I always wondered why Can you forgive her? wasnt a bigger hit!
I didnt know the other songs that were above Can you forgive her?!
I've not heard of the Three Little Pigs one, but the other 5 are some of the defining songs of the decade!

[redsock]

I've not heard of the Three Little Pigs one ....

Are you sure you want to ?

[XTZ1969]

[BlueSwan]

Definitely a succes, but shite nonetheless.

[Drico One]

Yeah, it was pretty duff, it has to be said. I thought their singles from 1994 to 1997 were hugely flawed. Up to the end of 1993, you couldn't really fault them. Certainly, they never released three iffy choices in succession (perhaps the Jealousy, DJ Culture, Was It Worth It? sequence was as weak as it got). But I think the last two singles from Very did that album a disservice, and the first three from Bilingual were mediocre at best. You'd have a strong case if you questioned the mix of A Red Letter Day that was released as a single, and Somewhere was joyless, a largely uninspired over-egged going-through-the-motions exercise. They restored some of their kitchen-sink gloss with I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more, threw it out with the rest of the sink on New York city boy, and redeemed themselves with Drunk. But they were very hit and miss in the 1990s.

Drico.

[Patrick Bateman]

My major problem is as ever with Ab Fab. Apart from that I love the singles from Very; the first two can't really be argued with; as a third single I wouldn't normally do..... was always going to be given a makeover from the Beatlesque three-minute pure pop song on Very. Liberation is a gorgeous love song and as a single the video was worth its release alone, and I actually prefer the Jam and Spoon version of Yesterday which is really Opportunities Part Two. Of course they could have released this masterpiece



but by the mid-point of the decade, synth-pop was out of fashion anyway. The first two singles from Bilingual are (as with Very) the obvious choices. Before is a very brave single because despite its anthemic gospelly vibe it isn't very Pet Shop Boys and to this day most of the fanbase still don't *get* it. And as has been established here, Se a vida e is actually one of their more successful 90s singles. I always thought that Single was a poor choice but it's got a funny video and sounds great on PopArt. Basically by this point I think they recognised that the tide had changed and that they could no longer mine the contemporary scene and remain relevant. They were now viewed as rather old-fashioned and passe, and their attempts to deliver one more big hit were increasingly etiolated versions of themselves (A red letter day, Somewhere, NYC boy) rather than attempts to fashion something new. They only really got their mojo back when electroclash brought their sound back into fashion in a retro way, and the rest is history repeating.

[BlueSwan]

Bilingual is a good album, but by PSBs unfuckwithable standards up till then, it was terrible. Only Discoteca and It Always Comes As A Surprise was really up to 80's standard. No wonder the singles were poor. I always enjoy this album more than I think I will when I put it on, but I still regard it as easily their worst album (Release has its charm despite its flaws). It's not just the songs that are mediocre by PSBs standards, I find the overall sound of many of the tracks quite dull, despite the seeming variance in styles.

[Firthy2002]

Before is a very brave single because despite its anthemic gospelly vibe it isn't very Pet Shop Boys and to this day most of the fanbase still don't *get* it.

Took a while for this to grow on me, it is very underrated.

[Firthy2002]

06. Gladys Knight - Licence To Kill

How did one of the more forgettable Bond themes manage the giddy heights of #6?!